As this is a private tour, there are alternate activities which can be substituted, and we recommend setting up the priority activities in advance to ensure availability.
Day 1
Begin your day at Clifford’s Honey Farm, where we take a look into honey production, and we might even try some honey ice cream. It is never too early for ice cream!
Next, we visit the Cygnet River valley as we look for koalas and cockatoos, listen out for laughing kookaburras and learn about some of the birds which live in the wetlands.
Here, we’ll meet Dr Peggy Rismiller who is the world expert on one of the world’s strangest mammals – the egg-laying Short-beaked Echidna. Peggy will share “A day in the life of a wildlife biologist”, and we can learn some of the many things she has discovered in 30 years working with animals in the wild.
Enjoy a picnic on the beach before meeting your skipper for an ocean rafting adventure – and make sure you come prepared for a swim!
The team from Kangaroo Island Marine Adventures assist in the dolphin watch programme, and they can share details about the visual recognition system used to track dolphin movement between pods. Depending on weather conditions and the activities of any dolphins we encounter (they might be busy fishing!), this experience may include a snorkel with the dolphins in the open ocean.
Day 2
Start your second day at Little Sahara, where we can explore the open dune fields – a perfect place to burn off some energy.
Continue to Seal Bay and take a private tour into the Australian Sea-lion colony – look out for pups nursing, young males practising their wrestling and big bulls staking out their territory. This is a great opportunity to learn about wild sea-lions on a beautiful sandy beach.
Break for a barbecue lunch at a private bush lunch site and then take a walk through the bush with your guide – learning what makes that noise, whose tracks are those, and who left THAT little pile there? Look for wallabies almost extinct on the mainland, a kangaroo found only on Kangaroo Island and learn about some strange Australian birds, plants and animals.
Stokes Bay is our next location where we access a beautiful hidden beach through an awesome tunnel. If the weather is right, you can take a swim in the natural rock pool.
Day 3
Begin the day in the island’s north-west in an important private wildlife refuge with Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife. Here, gain an insight into (and take part in) the fantastic conservation work being done by Pat, Heidi and their team to assist some of the lesser-known (and often nocturnal) native animals.
Lunch is a picnic enjoyed in the bush and consists of marinated poached chicken, fresh salads, cheeses and fantastic South Australian wine, beer, soft drinks and spring water.
After lunch, travel into Flinders Chase National Park and explore the massive natural sculptures of Remarkable Rocks whose abstract forms look like a meeting of the minds of Henry Moore and Salvador Dali. Perched on the cliffs with panoramic views, this offers great photo opportunities.
A short drive away, a boardwalk leads to Admirals Arch – a coastal grotto which is home to a large colony of long-nosed fur-seals who swim effortlessly through the crashing waves. Look for seals swimming in rock-pools and resting on smooth rock ledges.
At the days end, spend some time gaining an understanding of the earliest human occupation of the Island. Discuss what our Indigenous Australians survived or even thrived on across the Island – a selection of items foraged, hunted and fished from the local environment.
